Rep. Conroy stops at Newton diner on statewide walking tour

Tuesday

Aug 30, 2011 at 12:01 AMAug 30, 2011 at 9:35 PM

Tom Conroy marched into Johnny’s Luncheonette in Newton Centre Monday afternoon in his black New Balance sneakers smiling as he finished up mile 623 of his 660-mile 60-day tour of the state designed to boost his bid for U.S. Senate. Conroy is one of the seven announced Democrats, including Newton Mayor Setti Warren, hoping to unseat U.S. Senator Scott Brown.

Chloe Gotsis

Tom Conroy marched into Johnny’s Luncheonette in Newton Centre Monday afternoon in his black New Balance sneakers smiling as he finished up mile 623 of his 660-mile 60-day tour of the state designed to boost his bid for U.S. Senate.

Conroy is one of the seven announced Democrats, including Newton Mayor Setti Warren, hoping to unseat U.S. Senator Scott Brown. He is finishing his “Town-to-Town Walk” – where he toured across the commonwealth by foot in an effort to engage with voters this weekend. Conroy, a state representative from Wayland, has been traveling to local diners, bakeries and coffee shops to chat with voters about their thoughts about the biggest problems facing the country.

“It’s a great way to learn about the state. It’s a great opportunity to understand what the state is about and what residents’ priorities are,” Conroy said while sitting in a booth at Johnny’s. “It really gives them a chance to voice their ideas. Scott Brown certainly hasn’t been out and about the state the same way I have.”

Newton resident Christian Johnson-Green stopped to talk to Conroy outside of the JP Licks in Newton Centre Monday. He echoed the top concern that Conroy said he is hearing most from voters across the state.

“Jobs are the absolute bottom line. I just moved to Newton last month for a job,” said Johnson-Green. “Part of it is Massachusetts is a real hub for innovation.”

Johnson-Green told Conroy that he thinks the state should work to establish more partnerships with local universities to create jobs.

Apart from jobs, Conroy said he’s heard requests from Bay Staters to improve the state’s infrastructure and public transportation systems. Conroy said he’s counted up to $35 billion needed in infrastructure improvements, which he said will put residents back to work. If elected as senator he would direct funding away from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars toward improving the state’s infrastructure, he said.

While it’s becoming a crowded Democratic primary with more than a year to go until the race, Conroy said what sets him apart is his experience working on Capitol Hill for the United States Senate and his day job as the only elected legislator running.

“No one else has the kind of relevant experience I do. I worked in the United States Senate in Washington as an aide for [Sen. Barbara Mikulski],” he said. “No one else is a legislator on the Democratic side. No one else in this race has beaten a Democratic incumbent.”

While Warren has worked for Sen. John Kerry and worked in Washington, D.C. for the Clinton administration, Conroy pointed out that the Newton mayor never worked for the U.S. Senator’s Capitol Hill office. Conroy also points out that unlike Warren he has experience working on national security and foreign policy issues.

“Sure, Setti Warren has worked for a United States Senator, but he did it in Massachusetts,” he said. “I like Mayor Warren. He’s a gentleman. We’ve had an opportunity to meet a couple of times.”

Now in his third term in the State House, Conroy points to his experience working with budgets as a former member of the Ways and Means Committee and working to solve health care costs as the current vice chairman of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing.

“I got more done in my freshman session as a legislator than Scott Brown did in his 12 years in the State House,” Conroy said.

Conroy officially kicked off his campaign for U.S. Senate in June – several months after some of the frontrunners in the campaign including City Year co-founder and Brookline resident Alan Khazei, who launched his campaign in March. As of June 30, Khazei’s campaign reported it had received just under $1 million in donations. Democratic activist Bob Massie, who announced earlier in the spring, reported he had raised $169,000. Warren raised $122,000 as of June 30 and Conroy’s campaign reported receiving $60,000 in campaign donations.

After he finishes his walking tour in the Boston Common this weekend, Conroy said he’ll focus on the more “traditional style of campaigning,” – fundraising and courting Democrats.

GateHouse writer Chloe Gotsis can be reached at 781-433-8333 or at cgotsis@wickedlocal.com

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